Kyle Yamnitz

The Mississippi River

Grade Level

: 2-4

Length

: Several Class Periods

Materials

:

Globe, US Map, compasses, blank US map, regular and online encyclopedias,
and any maps that focus on the Mississippi River.

Performance Expectation

:

Students will be able to demonstrate the importance of the Mississippi
river and all its uses such as transportation, food, commercial
purposes, and drinking water. They will also be able to provide
information about other rivers and their importance.

Directions

:

The following is a simple list of activities to learn about the
Mississippi River.

• On a map, have students label the Mississippi River and the
  surrounding states. Also have them locate the river on a globe
  to familiarize them with the river’s greater association with
  the world.
• Students could write letters to the states that border the
  river requesting information.
• Using a compass, have students locate the general direction
  to the river from the classroom, and ask them to describe what
  direction the river flows.
• Ask students to sketch a map of the United States and its
  major water bodies. Or have them add the major water bodies to
  a blank map of the United States.
• Have students research Hernando De Soto to find that he was
  responsible for the discovery of the Mississippi River.
• Study the Louisiana Purchase and what the United States acquired
  through it.
• Using encyclopedias or some other source have students research
  the difference between a nautical mile and a land mile. Ask them
  to try to find the length of the Mississippi River in nautical
  miles.
• Study the differences between the following ships that may
  navigate the Mississippi River: steamboat, tugboat, tanker, barge,
  freighter, and paddlewheel.
• On a United States map, request that students label the Mississippi
  River’s floodplain, spillways, locks, ports, levees, and the Gulf
  of Mexico.
• Compare the Mississippi with other rivers of the world on
  size, load, and uses.
• Write a short essay on what life would be like without this
  important river.

Adaptation

:

For upper and lower grades, remove activities as necessary to
suit the grade level. Include the study of other rivers around
the world and their uses for multiculturalism.

Assessment

:

Ask students to write a self-evaluation on what they learned
through the activities they worked on. Have them describe what
they learned and why the river is important.

References

:

Mercer, Tim. "gopher://ericir.syr.edu:70/00/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.61."

ERIC

. gopher://ericir.syr.edu:70/00/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.61
(21, Sept. 1996).